“It’s no secret they were my favorite team since I was a young kid just watching the greats play in the Big House” he said during the ESPNU interview. “It was always my dream to play for Michigan. Being the recruit I am, I can’t be biased and I tried really hard not to be by looking at all my options and taking the whole process slowly. But once I went out there to Ann Arbor, they just blew me away. It was just inevitable.”

The rap ended with his declaration of “the winged helmet” which he held up and later put on.

Most of Michigan’s fellow 2014 commitments – offensive lineman Mason Cole, wide receiver Drake Harris, quarterback Wilton Speight, linebacker Michael Ferns and receiver Moe Ways – all gave their congratulations and began their grand proclamations for the current 11-player class.

“We are going to run college football,” Harris wrote.

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Their confidence is backed by the rankings so far, with ESPN.com and 247Sports both listing U-M as No. 1.

Peppers chose U-M over Stanford, Penn State and Rutgers among his other finalists, but had offers from all of the major schools (Alabama, Ohio State, etc.) and eliminated them earlier in the process.

This is only a verbal commitment though and Peppers, who joined his Paramus teammate, offensive lineman Juwann Bushell-Beatty in the Michigan class, cannot even sign the official letter-of-intent until February 2014.

Peppers is an elite defensive back at 6-1, 210 pounds, plus a star tailback so he could potentially get some snaps on offense as well.

Last season he had 77 tackles and three interceptions on defense and rushed for 1,552 yards and 18 scores on offense, along with catching 20 passes for 337 yards and five touchdowns.